Georgia Legislator Introduces Resolution to Annex Part of Tennessee

A Georgia legislator proposed that Georgia move the boundary between Georgia and Tennessee about a mile in Georgia's favor. The legislator argued that Georgia had never agreed to, never signed off on the 1818 survey that established the border between Georgia and Tennessee. The real motive behind this attempt to take Tennessee teritory seems to be access to the water flowing from the Tennessee river. Georgia is suffering from a drought and is getting desparate. One Tennessee legislator jokingly proposed that the two states settle the matter by allowing the University of Tennessee football team to play the University of Georgia football team, winner takes all. Another Tennessee legislator jokingly threatened to send an angry armada of University of Tennessee fans down the river to defend Tennessee's turf. While this predicament is laughable, it does make you wonder if the situation foreshadows water wars or some other natural resource war to come. Clearly, today's Odd News Award winner.
http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080208/NEWS0201/802080435

Knee Power - Today's Odd News Award Winner!

Finally, scientist are starting to crack the surface of our need for unlimited supplies of energy. They are not plugging us in to a giant machine like in the movie the Matrix. They are starting to design relatively unobtrusive little energy collecting devices that can harness the energy we use to move and convert that energy into electricity. The USA Today article that is the winner of today's Odd News Award highlights a lightweight device that can be strapped next to your knee. It harnesses the power that you use to stop the forward movement of your lower leg. Each minute that you walk can be converted into 10 minutes of power for your cellphone. This article also has a link to another article about a backpack that converts the up and down motion of a backpack to energy. The energy of these devices can be converted directly to electricity or can be stored in baterries. The opportunities for more devices like these are only limited to the number of ways that a person can move. I want the rights to the energy converting device that will replace cushions in the soles of shoes. It is a great idea! This energy device in the bottom of your shoe could provide support, comfort, and energy all at the same time. If you are smart enough to create such a device, I would sure appreciate you being honest enough to give me a very small percentage of you profit (say 2-5%). I think I am going to attach one of these devices to my wife's rocking chair. She's a rocker. Checkout today's Odd News Award winner by clicking on the link following this article.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/discoveries/2008-02-07-knee-power-walking_N.htm

Here is an article you might want to check out!

Implants Create Insect Cyborgs !
This one is both odd and scary at the same time. I am going to hold off on awarding this one because I suspect this news will become even more strange as the science progresses. But it is definitley worth reading.

http://www.livescience.com/strangenews/080204-cyborg-insect.html

Navy's New Rail Gun - The Stuff of Science Fiction

The Navy tested an incredible gun yesterday. A rail gun that uses electromagnetic energy instead of a chemical explosion to shoot a projectile. Currently, large guns on a ship have a range of 23 miles. A rail gun has a range of 230 miles. It also throws a projectile at a speed of mach 7 when its fired and still has a speed of mach 5 at impact. Besides giving naval ships a much further range, this new gun is much safer because it does not rely on an explosion to propel the projectile. Before today's test, the only place that you could see such a gun was on "Battlestar Galactica" or by playing "Quake." Cool, huh?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20080201/sc_livescience/navytestsincrediblescifiweapon;_ylt=Ag9QtPAbRRQSJ7ZBySRHaPIDW7oF

A Clown's Funeral

I have heard of an Irish wake being a time to exchange happy memories of the deceased and that seems like a pleasant way to say fairwell to a loved one. A bit more unusual is a New Orleans Jazz funeral where dancing and jazz music announce a funeral and still, that is a happy way to remember someone who has recently departed. But today I read of the rememberance of a clown. The funeral goers dressed in bright colored mismatched clothes, floppy shoes and giant bow ties, white makeup, and red round noses. Clowns even rode up the church aisle on unicycles and a chaplain blew bubbles from the lecturn. That is a very happy but, very odd way to pay respects to the dead. What a way to remember a guy who spent a lifetime making others happy! Hands down today's Odd News Award winner!
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/ODD_BRITAIN_CLOWN_CHURCH?SITE=NYMID&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT